The walls that speak Paredes que hablan

The walls that speak

“I selected figurative artists who could represent their own culture,” explained artist and curator Celso González.

The eleven took on nine.

Earlier this month, a group of 11 mural artists took to nine different public sites in East Harlem and the South Bronx to give them color, meaning and new life.

The second installment of the MonumentArt project, a mural festival, was announced on October 5th by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and partner organizations.

The festival brought internationally renowned artists to New York to paint large-scale murals throughout the urban landscape, on the sides of residential buildings and schools uptown.

“These artists are giving an incredible gift to our community and we couldn’t be more grateful,” said Mark-Viverito. “I am a big believer in the arts and preserving the cultural legacy of our neighborhood.”

The artists hailed from Puerto Rico, Mexico, South Africa and Belgium, among other countries. The previous festival installment took place in 2013 in East Harlem, and the project has been expanded to include the South Bronx this year.

José Morales, the Director of La Marqueta Retoña, an initiative to revive El Barrio’s historic marketplace through the arts, music, community and culinary activities, partnered with Puerto Rican muralist Celso González to produce and curate this year’s festival.

This is the second installment of the mural project.

“I selected figurative artists who could represent their own culture, but also had international appeal,” said González, who has been involved in arts for at least 20 years.

One of the artists selected was Argentine-born Nicolas Romero Escalada, a.k.a. Ever, who worked on a wall at P.S. 109, on 99th Street and Lexington Avenue.

Ever said his own brightly colored pieces seek to bring awareness to social issues, particularly those affecting the Latino community.

“My idea is a composition that speaks about immigration, but from a humane perspective,” he said of the P.S. 109 mural. “What make New York City rich are the different cultures that co-exist.”

Morales explained that the artists had arrived just a day before beginning their murals, adding to the intensity of the experience.

“These guys just came to New York yesterday and [just] met their walls,” said Morales, adding that the resulting art would be a reflection of the artists’ communication with their environment. “We have a lot of stress, but we will make it happen.”

MonumentArt was aided by several partners, including the Acacia Network, which provided logistical and financial support.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the City Council Speaker in this important initiative,” said CEO Raúl Russi. “We look forward to seeing the beautiful murals around the Bronx and El Barrio.”

“We recognize that the citizens of El Barrio and the Bronx are citizens of the world,” said Brian Ricklin, Executive Director and CEO of Creative Art Works.

The project includes a strong participation component, as artists engaged directly with local students as apprentices. The result is a dynamic exchange on art techniques, community building, neighborhood history, and creative expression.

Mural recipients expressed delight at the new works.

“For our students, it is a real inspiration to see these murals unfold,” said Naomi Smith, principal of Central Park East ll, where two murals, one by South African artist Faith47 and another by Mexican artist Sego, were established. “[This shows] we live in a district and city that values art as a way to enhance people’s lives.”

Born in Los Angeles in 1980, Mac has been creating and studying art independently since childhood. His work had him commissioned to Belgium to paint his interpretations of classic Flemish Primitive paintings at the Groeninge Museum. Mac continues to balance his love of painting large scale public artworks around the world with his meticulous and time consuming creation of indoor works. More: www.elmac.net

SEGO

Born in Mexico City, Sego is a self-taught artist who lived for a couple of years in Oaxaca and started drawing animals that lvied in this neighborhood and much of his work has been influenced from living there and still has ties there. His murals have been seen across the globe from the United States, Puerto Rico and Latin America to Cuba and Europe. More: www.segoyovbal.blosgspot.com

EVER

Argentinian street artist Ever paints murals that cushion social criticism in a flurry of bright colors, dreamy, cloudy-like form and whimsical characters. He began his career as a graffiti writer in the streets of Argentina in the 90’s. His compositions are often vibrant in color and he has recently begun to experiment with art installations, providing commentaries on current events using stuffed animals, ping pong tables and toilets. More: http://eversiempre.com

Born in Puerto Rico, Celso is a contemporary artist whose work excels in different disciplines such as painting, sculpture, murals, mosaics, architecture and film. For the last 10 years, he has been working on Commissions for the government of Puerto Rico and abroad. He has developed over 100 Public Art Projects and his work is exhibited in monumental sculptural mosaics all over the island and the world. More: www.celsoart.com

VIAJERO

Adrian Daniel Roman aka “Viajero” is a young Puerto Rican artist born and raised in New York City. Family, culture, history, and LIFE are the inspirations of Viajero’s work. Aged or grainy wood is his current canvas of choice; however he has created pieces using various paper, clay and mixed media. Many of his pieces are in private collections in the United States and Puerto Rico and have been viewed in various galleries and art shows throughout the nation. More: www.viajeroart.com

LUIS VIDAL

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Luis R. Vidal majored in sociology and photojournalism. Right after graduating, he began working as a photographer for various news outlets and local newspapers. In order to widen his scope on photography and related arts he embarked to Madrid to study film editing. After more than 11 years developing as a professional in Europe, Luis is currently living in Brooklyn, NY. More: www.luisvidal.com

2 ALAS

2Alas is an arts collective comprised of Andrew Antonaccio and Filio Gálvez. Known for their black and white linear portraits and colored geometric abstractions, the duo have become a strong force for urban art in Miami. Along with their street work, they have gained attention for their smaller studio spaces. In 2015 Gálvez and Antonaccio were invited to be part of 12th Biennale of Habana. More: www.facebook.com/2alas

“My idea is a composition that speaks about immigration,” said artist Ever.

ELIZAM ESCOBAR

Escobar earned his Bachelor Degree in Art from the University of Puerto Rico and continued his studies at the City University of New York, the Brooklyn Museum and the New York Art Students League. He worked as a cartoonist and as a teacher at several public schools and the Art School at EL Museo del Barrio. More: http://mapr.org/en/museum/proa/artist/escobar-elizam

TK FAITH 47

Faith47 is an internationally-acclaimed street and studio-based artist from Cape Town, South Africa. Following an active street art career spanning more than 15 years, her work can now be found in major cities around the world. Using a wide range of media, her approach is explorative and substrate appropriate – from found and rescued objects, to time-layered and history-textured city walls and their accretions, to studio-prepared canvas and wood. Through her work, Faith47 attempts to disarm the strategies of global realpolitik, in order to advance the expression of personal truth. More: www.faith47.com

ROA

ROA is the pseudonym of a graffiti artist from Ghent, Belgium. He has created works on the streets of cities across Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. ROA generally paints wild/urban animals and birds that are native to the area being painted. ROA usually uses a minimal color pallet, such as black, white and red, but also creates works using vibrant colors depicting flesh and/or internal systems within the animals and birds. More: https://www.facebook.com/ROAStreetArt